Conventionally, a wheelchair has generally been used by a person who cannot walk even by using a stick due to the paralysis of the lower extremities. Such a person can locomote, operating this wheelchair him/herself, as substitute for the feet. The most popular wheelchair, as a standard, includes front small wheels and back large wheels attached to the chair. Here, small wheels are referred to as casters and can freely rotate. Meanwhile, large wheels are driving wheels and have driving rings (hand rims). The user rotates the driving rings him/herself to drive the wheelchair. To operate a wheelchair with complete control, it is necessary to practice sitting on the wheelchair in a balanced manner, as well as to practice getting on and off, and driving the wheelchair. It is difficult for a person who does not have the strong muscle of the upper extremity to improve the skill of operating a standard wheelchair. Besides this standard type, there are various types of wheelchairs, including: one having front large wheels which can be easily operated and therefore is suitable for old people; one being driven with one hand suitable for a person who can use only one hand; a manual chain-driven type for outdoor driving, and special types, such as a buggy type and an abdominal position driving type. In addition, there are a light, foldable and portable wheelchair which can be easily carried on an automobile, and an electric wheelchair which can be operated only by pushing a switch button suitable for a person who cannot use the hands.
However, a general wheelchair has a backrest in the back of a seat part. Therefore, the user should get on and off the wheelchair from the front side, and, in order to sit on the seat part, should standup once and turn around. Accordingly, the user often needs the help of a caretaker to transfer from a bed or a toilet seat to the wheelchair.
Particularly, to transfer a disabled person who requires nursing care, such as a bedridden person or an old person getting weak legs, from the bed and so forth to the wheelchair, the caretaker needs to get the disabled person around the caretaker's arm or uses a transferring device referred to as a lifter. When the caretaker gets the disabled person around the caretaker's arm to sustain the disabled person's weight, a significant burden is applied to the caretaker, and therefore the caretaker is likely to suffer from lumbar pain. In addition, a general wheelchair lacks usability, because there is a risk that the user loses the balance and falls down when getting on and off the wheelchair.
Moreover, with a general wheelchair, the backrest presses against the back of the user. In particular, a spine-injured patient who feels no pain due to the injured-spine cannot perceive physical pain, and therefore is likely to suffer from the blood circulation disorder. Furthermore, it is necessary for a spine-injured patient to take care a sitting posture. It is because a spine-injured patient poses such that the spine is bent backward and the pelvis is significantly tilted backward when sitting on the wheelchair. Therefore, a spine-injured patient tends to be pressed on a narrower portion of the body than a physically unimpaired person.
Meanwhile, in a case of using a lifter, it takes a lot of trouble to prepare for suspending a person requiring nursing care, and therefore the caretaker has a bigger burden. In addition to this, large space is required to place and accommodate the device. In particular, in a case of suspending the buttocks of a person requiring nursing care, there is a problem that the person requiring nursing care feels scared or uncomfortable. Meanwhile, in a case of supporting a person requiring nursing care under the arms, the caretaker needs to sustain the weight of the person requiring nursing care under the arms. As a result of this, there is a problem that the person requiring nursing care feels pain or uncomfortable.
In addition, a person requiring nursing care who is bedridden for a long period of time tends to reduce the muscles and prolong the hospital stay. To prevent these problems, it is necessary to regularly make the patient physically active with assistance or rehabilitation, and frequently change the body position, and therefore significant burdens may be applied to the caretaker.
Although a walker has been used, which can reduce the burdens of the caretaker and the person requiring nursing care and has an effect on rehabilitation, it does not have a seat part. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for a separate chair in case the person requiring nursing care gets tired. In addition, since a wheel walker does not have a stopping device, it is not stable when the user stops. Accordingly, a wheel walker is not suitable for outdoor use or walking on a slope, that is, has limited uses and places, and lacks versatility.
In order to solve these problems, for example, Patent Literature 1 discloses “a caring chair having a transfer function provided with a cart conveyed where a cared person is made to sit on a seat.”
In addition, Patent Literature 2 discloses “a body transfer apparatus for nursing having a table and a chair provided on a hollow shaft fitted to a main pole standing in a pedestal with casters, and a lifting and lowering device to lift and lower the table and the chair along the main pole.”